Ambassador Livingstone, I Presume?

The US ambassador came to Lagdo Tuesday (the 13th).  She's a she, and she's new, coming to Cameroon a couple months ago, replacing a very popular American ambassador (he's a he), who I saw once at a nice beach-front hotel in Kribi back in April. (Note: the US ambassador is considered the next powerful person in Cameroon next to the president, Paul Biya.  Paul Biya will not be winning that $5 million prize for African leadership.) 

 

Embassy people aren't new to Lagdo.  It was a US money that funded the CARE project that improved the irrigation canals to the rice fields on the other side of the dam, so US officials come and see what our taxes are paying for, in addition to overhead costs at the CARE office.  (The malaria project I worked with was funded by Sanofi-Aventis, the French pharmaceutical.)  Back when CARe was here, they usually swooped the embassy people up and showed them sights, but because CARE is gone now, as the only Americans present here, myself and other PCVs became in charge of her visit. 

 

In tandem with PC admin in Yaounde, we picked a few of our projects in the community for her to see and to go to lunch at Lagon Bleu.  After much fretting during all the events, we only ended up 30 minutes late, not too bad since we, the PCVs, had no idea how to handle this kind of even ourselves in a completely culturally appropriate manner on short notice.  Like a lot of things here, you just wing and they all work out.  Just like Americans to base success on punctuality.

 

Overall, the ambassador + entourage + Land Cruisers = a good visit.  The ambassador got fed a lot and received a bunch of gifts, and she doled out a few herself, much to our (PCV) chagrin.  (The whole point of PC is to not give handouts, but the State Dept. has different goals, of course.  Oil and counterbalancing China's growing influence, among others.)  It's such a whirlwind when being with the ambassador.  You go from random white guy in rural Africa to being in the middle of a swarm of activity and speaking English with Americans not in the PC.  It's funny hearing an embassy official asking where a toilet is - not a latrine - while the ambassador is trying on an outfit a women's group made especially for her.  There is a disconnect between the lifestyle of a PCV and an embassy worker, both can't imagine how the other lives.  When the ambassador left, I didn't know what to do with myself because the non-stop fuss was over and I was back in Cameroon.

 

Future blog entries: 2007 X-mas plans, "Fall" work recap, Year 2 plans